Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode today issued a ninety-day ultimatum to owners of petroleum tank farms located within Apapa to secure parking bays for their trucks or get shutdown.
The governor who addressed State House correspondents flanked by Fatai Owoseni, the state commissioner of police, other security operatives and representatives of the various transportation unions among other stakeholders also directed all commercial buses, tricycle and motorcycle operators to fully comply with the provisions of the Lagos Road Traffic Law 2012.
The law bars motorcycle and tricycle operations on major roads and highways in the state. It also prohibits commercial buses from picking and dropping passengers in areas not designated as bus stops or plying on the fast lanes of major roads. Their operations are restricted to the service lanes.
According to Ambode, the enforcement of the law, going forward will be total, and the police and other security agencies are directed to up their game.
The governor said the moves became imperative because of increasing congestion on the roads and attendant robbery of innocent motorists. He said the robberies are linked to motorcycles while the gridlock is rooted in reckless driving, non compliance with traffic laws and the occupation of the roads by petrol tankers due to the non provision of parking bays by tank farm owners.
“This government is totally committed to the security of lives and property as well as enforcing the Rule of Law. We will not allow a few notorious elements in our midst to cause a breakdown in law and order and upset the peace that we are used to in the State. To curtail these challenges, we have decided on the full enforcement of the Lagos State traffic laws,” said Ambode
The commissioner of police, Owoseni, appealed to the motoring public to comply with the governor’s directive as it has to do with the law, saying the police and other security agencies will enforce the law frontally.
Representatives of the various transport unions including National Association of Transport Owners (NARTO), Road Transports Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and association of tricycle and motorcycle owners and operators who took their turns to speak at the press conference, all agreed to abide by the directive and the provisions of the law.
